Mum dodges jail after glassing reveller in the face at Redcar pub

Leanne Cheetham from Eston, leaving Teesside Crown Court, who was spared jail after glassing a man in the face at a pub in Redcar, Teesside

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A mother-of-two who rammed a glass into a fellow pubgoer’s face has avoided jail - despite a previous conviction for the same offence.

Leanne Cheetham attacked the man at The Stockton pub on Redcar High Street after an argument on the dance floor.

Teesside Crown Court heard the 31-year-old single mum, who lives in Eston, had been drinking and was verbally abused during the night.

But her victim was “entirely innocent” and had posed “no threat or intimidation”.

As a result of the vicious attack, he suffered a 7cm cut to his chin which required stitching and has scarred.

The attack also left him with confidence issues and less likely to go out, the court was told.

The offence on the night of May 29 last year mirrored an attack in June 2003 when Cheetham, aged 19 at the time, glassed a woman at a christening at the former George pub in Eston.

The drunken teenager grabbed her victim by the hair and pushed a glass into her face. She was sent to a young offenders’ institution for six months after admitting unlawful wounding.

Cheetham was sentenced for the same charge at Teesside Crown Court on Friday.

When she was first arrested on July 25 she told police it was an accident. She later admitted unlawful wounding before a trial.

Defending Cheetham, Jonathan Walker, told the court she was previously a victim of domestic abuse, and the attack was “instinctive” and “not premeditated”.

He said: “This is someone who has witnessed and seen violence first hand from a very young age and has shown on two occasions a tendency to react badly to situations while in drink.”

The court also heard that Cheetham, of Wilton Way, lives in fear due to domestic abuse in her past. She had also suffered post-natal depression and the breakdown of her marriage.

Her employer and a friend gave glowing reports, stating she was hardworking and a great mum, and said the attack was “completely out of character”.

Judge Simon Phillips QC gave Cheeham a 18-month jail sentence suspended for 18 months, with a three-month curfew order. She must carry out 200 hours of unpaid work and pay £1,000 to her victim in compensation.

The judge said: “The evening had been uneventful but it ended for [the victim] in a thoroughly unpleasant and unsettling way.

“Someone in the public house, busy as it was, was verbally abusive towards you. You felt intimidated and it was in these circumstances you stood up, perhaps forgetting you still had a glass in your hand, and struck out.

“I have been persuaded that normally you are a law-abiding person. On this occasion you let yourself and your children down very badly.”